They make up the elite of Welsh public life – a strata of society described by Kim Howells MP as “probably the most effective back-scratching organisation outside of Sicily”.They include Geraint Talfan Davies, Controller of BBC Wales and a governor of the Welsh College of Music and Drama. There is Wynford Evans, chairman of the Bank of Wales and former chairman of South Wales Electricity, not forgetting, of course, Emyr Jenkins, father of the future Mrs Hague, who is chief executive of the Arts Council of Wales, former director of the National Eisteddfod and an elder of the Crwys Presbyterian Church of Wales.It is from these circles that Miss Jenkins hails. The couple have different backgrounds, although they converged later on. Hague, son of a businessman who runs a soft drinks firm, had a comprehensive education, while she went to a leading Welsh public school Both are Oxford graduates.

Miss Jenkins studied English at Jesus College; Hague gained a first in politics, philosophy and economics from Magdalen. She went on to a degree in Welsh at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth; he to a high-flying job with McKinsey, the management consultants.Ffion is described by friends as a quiet, studious woman who came out of her shell at university. Fellow members of the Welsh Society at Oxford recall her being taken to hospital after an evening of high spirits led to her being accidentally stabbed in the leg by a ceremonial sword.While Miss Jenkins pursued a career in the civil service, Hague became an MP at 27, going on to become parliamentary private secretary to Norman Lamont and then pensions minister.His betrothal represented the high point of his acceptance by Welsh society. When he was appointed, he knew how difficult it was for Welsh secretaries from England to be taken seriously in the principality.Previous incumbents had been lampooned as English overlords who spent as little time as possible across the Severn.

The Labour MP, John Morris, a former Welsh secretary himself, poured scorn on the choice of Hague to fill in for Redwood after the latter resigned to fight John Major for the leadership. “Not since Caligula made his horse a senator has such a ridiculous appointment been made,” said Morris.But Hague was determined to clasp Wales to his bosom. He regularly journeyed between Westminster, his Yorkshire constituency and his new fiefdom – a 1,000-mile circuit that became known as The Hague Triangle.He visited hospitals and factories, climbed Mount Snowdon and strode the Pembrokeshire coastal path, staying in modest bed and breakfasts. He signed a deal with a South Korean electronics company that created thousands of new jobs. He even supported the Welsh rugby team against England.With the Conservative defeat in the election, events have moved on and, for Hague, the stakes may be higher. If he persuades fellow Tory MPs to skip a generation and elect a youthful leader to lead them back from the wilderness, Wales will cease to figure so large in his life.

If he fails in his ambitions, he is likely to secure a front-rank post in the Shadow Cabinet, which could be a different portfolio.Miss Jenkins was with Hague at Michael Howard’s Belgravia flat earlier this week when the two men hatched a deal over champagne to run for the leadership together By the next morning, Hague had changed his mind. But while he may have ditched the political dream ticket, the fiancee of his dreams seems likely to remain by his side.. If the Deputy Prime Minister really wants to tackle the problem of gridlock, he could usefully start by talking to his boss. The most heart-warming images of the week were the Blair family moving house.